Mcbride Makes A Lot -- But Not As Much As His Wife

TALLAHASSEE -- Bill McBride made big money as manager of Florida's biggest law firm, but when he pooled his paycheck with his banker wife's, they were dealing in seven-digit incomes.

McBride, who left the firm of Holland and Knight midway through 2001 to seek the Democratic nomination for governor, collected $436,890 from the firm last year, according to the latest of nine years of personal-income-tax returns released Thursday.

This helped offset reported losses from a 25-acre orange grove he owns next to his lakeside home in Thonotasassa -- $89,263 lost on oranges last year.

He collected $566,735 from the firm the year before and lost $101,467 on his orange grove.

In both years, the grove's losses lowered McBride's tax bills -- $115,087 last year, $136,322 the year before.

But in the years when McBride and wife Alex Sink were filing joint income-tax returns, Sink's income overshadowed McBride's.

She retired two years ago as Florida president for the Bank of America.

Sink collected $2.6 million from the bank in 1999, their return shows -- McBride $523,647 from his firm that year.

McBride's campaign says Sink's high earnings from her last year at the bank reflected an exercise of stock options. The couple paid $1.1 million in taxes.

The year before, Sink was paid $774,362, McBride $499,284. They lost $72,381 on oranges.

Sink made $1.9 million in 1997, McBride $336,508, Sink $670,439 in 1996, McBride $334,680. That was the trend in 1995 and 1994, too, though they ran nearly even in 1993, at about $235,000 each.

McBride has released nine years of returns, explaining that he cannot locate the one from the year before but has asked the IRS for a copy.

Gov. Jeb Bush, who has divulged 20 years of tax returns, called on rivals to match him for the past 10 years. Former Attorney General Janet Reno released a decade of her returns earlier this week.

The Bush campaign maintains that McBride should disclose his wife's recent, separate returns as well.

But McBride says he is the candidate -- not Sink -- and that the couple has maintained separate assets since their marriage.

He was 41, she 38, when they wed. McBride has posted his personal net worth as $1.9 million. Sink's is unreported.